For Catholics, the Mass is the “source and summit of the Christian life.” Yet many Catholics might confess to not understanding in any depth what goes on in an “ordinary” celebration of the Eucharist. One Ordinary Sunday is perhaps Paula Huston’s most compelling and original book to date. The award-winning novelist and spiritual writer guides us through a Mass on the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time at her home parish in Arroyo Grande, California. Huston’s personal and spiritual reflections offer fresh and often unexpected insights into the profound mystery at the heart of the Catholic faith. (Ave Maria Press)

The Mass is at the heart of the life of Catholics, but are they fully present? This informative and reflective meditation by a convert from Lutheranism, Paula Huston, brings the symbols, words and gestures of the Mass to life in a new way. Down-to-earth, practical, and accessible, "One Ordinary Sunday" is for every Catholic who at times goes through the motions and wants to reconnect with the mystery. In other words, it's for every Catholic.

About the author

Paula Huston, a National Endowment of the Arts Fellow, is the author of two novels and seven works of spiritual nonfiction. Her short stories and essays have appeared in numerous literary journals and magazines. A former writing and literature teacher in the California State University system, she currently mentors graduate students in creative nonfiction for the Seattle Pacific MFA program. A wife, mother, and grandmother, she is an oblate, or vowed lay member, of a Camaldolese Benedictine monastic community in Big Sur, California.

“I loved this book. Avoiding the dull abstractions and overly philosophical notions of catechisms, Paula Huston educates the reader about the feel, history, and graces of the Mass and provides fascinating details about the purpose and meaning of its actions and symbols. One Ordinary Sunday will be illuminating not just for regular parishioners but for those who stand outside the Church and wonder what those Catholics are up to.”

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